Summary

By 1968 the top decathlete was considered to be the American [Bill Toomey], who had won the AAU Championships from 1964-68. At the 1966 AAU he had bettered the world record, although the mark was never ratified by the IAAF. The leading Europeans were the West Germans, with [Werner von Moltke] having won the 1966 European Championship, and the 1964 silver medalist, [Hans-Joachim Walde], also competing. In the 400 metres, Toomey took the lead with a stunning mark of 45.68 seconds in the thin Mexican air, winning that phase by 2.7 seconds over West German [Kurt Bendlin]. He was never headed after that. But going into the final event, he led by only 61 points over Bendlin and 74 points over Walde. Bendlin was not considered a threat in the 1,500 but Walde was, although he would have to defeat Toomey by 7-8 seconds to win. But he was unable to shake Toomey in the 1,500 and in the homestretch, Toomey sprinted, out-kicking by Walde by 1.2 seconds, and winning the gold medal. The sixth-place finisher in 1968, [Tom Waddell], became a prominent gay activist and started the Gay Olympics, although the name had to be changed to the Gay Games, when the IOC objected to the use of Olympics.

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